9/11-- Ten Years Later

The tenth anniversary of terrorist attacks is quickly approaching and we want to hear from readers about your thoughts and feelings about what happened that day and in the next decade. Even though Petaluma is 3,000 miles from New York and Washington, D.C., we too felt the impact of the tragedy and many lives were altered because of it.

Brian Fishman, a Petaluma High School graduate, arrived in Washington D.C. on Sept. 10, 2001 looking for a job. Instead he found himself sitting with survivors of the attacks in Pentagon City and trying to make sense of what happened. Today he is a counter-terrorism expert for a Washington, DC think tank.

Steven Kiernan, another PHS grad, enrolled in the U.S. Marines as soon as he could following graduation and shipped off overseas. The son and grandson of veterans, Kiernan always thought he'd join the military, but the decision was hastened by the Sept. 11 attacks.

One day, while on patrol in Iraq, his convoy came upon an IED and Kiernan lost both legs in the incident. He was treated at Walter Reed Hospital, where he received the Purple Heart for valor in the field. Today Kiernan lives in Fairfax County, Virginia where he is attending college to pursue a career in foreign policy.

How have you been affected by 9-11? Share your story.